With Spring Training getting started and a number of high profile free agents yet unsigned, the February Hornsby Chapter lunch meeting will be held on Sunday, February 24 at 12:30 pm at Serranos-Mopac at 5030 Highway 290 West, Austin, TX 78735 (near intersection of MoPac & 290). Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
Texas Talking Baseball 2019 Opening Day(s)
“Talking Baseball” (aka BasebALZ) opened its Texas 2019 season with a session at the Kerrville, Texas VA Hospital. Six veterans, plus hospital staff and administrators, were in attendance. This is the 30th program session that we’ve delivered at Kerrville, and we continue to get great feedback from our staff contacts there.
SABR volunteers Jim, Mike, Dan & Ann join VA staff for the January 18 session.
On January 28, we kicked off our 11th “season” of Talking Baseball programs in Austin. We were very happy to welcome several new participants and their caregivers. Eleven participants, caregivers and guests joined our eight volunteers.
In addition to our usual program offerings, we experimented with some new segments. One, entitled “Baseball Time Machine“, asked “If you could go back in time to one ballgame, what game would it be?” We had some lively (and funny) examples, for instance – one of the participants missed Kirk Gibson’s classic World Series walk-off homer because his wife sent him out for Chinese food!
Another new segment was “Get Up and Move”. The idea is to add some light physical activity to the program. Our first try at this was “The Chicken Dance”, a staple at our local AAA ballpark. As you can see from the pictures above, we did get up and move.
One of our regular segments is “Stump the Experts”. Bobby (far end of table in Yankee pinstripes) and Renee attempt to stump the SABR “experts” with a series of clues about a ballplayer’s identity. Bobby took it easy on us today, as we were able to successfully identify that the ballplayer was former Rangers star Josh Hamilton.
Our 2019 season will continue in February with a session at Kerrville on February 8 and sessions at Westminster Senior Living in Austin on February 11 and 25.
We have been offering the Talking Baseball reminiscence program since the Spring of 2015. Our April, 2019 session in Austin will be our 100th session! It has been a fun and rewarding experience for all of us.
Hornsby Chapter members mark SABR Day with HOF quiz
Fourteen chapter members and guests celebrated the 10th Annual SABR Day on Saturday, Jan. 26, with a fine Italian lunch in north Austin and a novel quiz about Hall of Fame members.
Attendees were treated (tortured?) by a trivia quiz I came up with – Name all of the inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame who have double letters in their first name, last name or both. The only clues provided were the revealed double letters and blanks for the rest of the name. The names were numbered and placed in alphabetical order.
For example, for the first name on the list, the entry looked like this: _a__ Aa___
The answer, of course, is Hank Aaron. If the same letter as the double letters appear elsewhere in the name, I included it in the clues (Wheel of Fortune style).
Recently, I noticed a few other Hall of Fame players with double letters in their names and wondered how many more there were. Surely, I thought, it would just be a handful of names. Would you be surprised to learn (as I was) that more than 40 percent of Hall of Famers have double letters in their names? Try your hand at the quiz by clicking here. For the answers, click here.
Tom Thayer took away the top prize, scoring an impressive 87 points, followed by Jerry Miller with a nearly equally impressive 83 points. When I read the answers, at times, it seemed like Tom was reading from the answer sheet; he nailed so many of them. And to be fair, our limited time may have prevented some contestants to do better on the quiz. One remarked he would have filled out more names if he had more time.
For his prowess, Tom was awarded the audio book for “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood,” which consists of 14 audio CDs.
As usual, we had a wide variety of professional teams, baseball and otherwise, represented at the meeting. David hit the trifecta by representing Philadelphia very well, wearing a new Phillies t-shirt jersey with the newest Phillie Andrew McCuthen’s No. 22, a Philadelphia Flyers cap and replica of a Philadelphia Eagles world championship ring. Other teams represented included a Seattle Mariners jersey worn by Frank (in honor of Ichiro Suzuki’s recent signing); an Astros shirt by Tom T.; Round Rock Express cap and Fredbird sweatshirt; and a Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters cap and a long-sleeved t-shirt celebrating Japan’s World Baseball Classic win in 2006 by yours truly. In addition, Tom W. wore a Cleveland Browns sweatshirt, while Tom M. wore a Cleveland Indians sweatshirt paired with a Jim Thome cap. Jerry sported a Rams Deacon Jones jersey.
With less than a month to go before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, the chapter will have its next monthly meeting on Sunday, Feb. 24. More details to come in our chapter email list.
Baseball HOF Members Quiz: Double your pleasure, double your fun
The following Baseball Hall of Fame members have double letters in either their first or last name, or both. 44.11 percent (147 of 331 members of the Hall of Fame) meet this criterion. Using the clues provided, filled in the names. Hint: the names are in alphabetical order by last name. Also, answers are based on the roster on the official website for the National Baseball Hall of Fame (https://baseballhall.org/)
1. _a__ Aa___
2. ____ _pp___
3. ___l _____ll
4. __ff _____ll
5. __ __rr__
6. _oo_ ____ __ll
7. ___nn_ _____
8. ____ __rr_
9. _____ __gg__
10. ____ __gg_
11. ___ __tt_____
12. ______ ___tt
13. __ll___ _____
14. ___ __nn_n_
15. __ss_ _____tt
16. ___ _______ll_
17. __pp_ ________
18. __ __bb
19. _dd__ __ll___
20. __mm_ __ll___
21. ___ __nn_ll_
22. _____ __nn__
23. ____ _oo___
24. __bb_ ___
25. _____ __mm____
26. __zz_ ____
27. __ll ______
28. ___ ____gg__
29. __rr_ ____
30. __bb_ ___rr
31. ______ ______ss
32. ____ __ff_
33. __nn__ _________
34. __ll_ _____
35. ___nn_ _____
36. ___ __ll__
37. ___ __rr_ll
38. __ll__ _______
39. __ll ______
40. __ll__ ___
41. __mm__ __xx
42. __rr__ _____
43. ___ __ll___
44. _oo__ _o____
45. _oo__ _oss___
46. ____ __ee__e__
47. ___ ___ff__ __
48. _____ ___ff___
49. ________ ___rr___
50. __n_ ___nn
51. __ss_ _____s
52. __ll_ ____l___
53. __ll _ __rr____
54. _____ __rr__
55. __bb_ ___t__tt
56. __rr_ ______nn
57. __ll_ ______
58. ____ __ll
59. ______ __ff___
60. __rr_ _oo___
61. ___ __bb___
62. ____ __bb_ll
63. __ll__ __gg___
64. __gg__ _______
65. ______ __nn_n__
66. ___pp__ _____
67. _dd__ __ss
68. ___ _ee_e
69. __ll__ _ee_e_
70. ______ __ll
71. ___ __ll__
72. ______ __ll_
73. ____ __ll_
74. ______ __ll_____
75. __ll ____
76. ____ __ __ss_
77. __rr_ __r___
78. __mm_ _______
79. ____ __zz___
80. ___dd__ _________
81. Ll___ ___
82. __nn__ ____
83. __rr_ ________
84. _ee ________
85. ____ __dd__
86. _ff_ ______
87. __bb__ _______ll_
88. _dd__ ____e__
89. __ll__ ____
90. __ll _________
91. ___ _cC_____
92. __mm_ _cC_____
93. __ll__ _cC____
94. ___ ____nn___
95. __ll _______
96.. __ll _________
97. ___ ____ee
98. ___nn_ ____
99. ____ __rr__
100. _dd__ __rr__
101. ______ ____ll__
102. ___ _tt
103. ____ __nn___
104. _______ __rr_
105. ____ ___zz_
106. _dd__ ______
107. ____ _____tt
108. _ee _ee _ee_e
109. _pp_ _____
110. ____ __zz___
111. __oo__ _o___o_
112. __ll__ _____
113. _dd _____
114. ___ __ff___
115. _____ __pp___
116. _____ _e_ee
117. ___ ____ll
118. __ __mm___
119. _zz__ _____
120. __ll_ __________
121. __rr__ _____
122. __ll__ ______ll
123. _____ __tt__
124. ____ __tt___
125. ___ __tt__ 126. __ll __rr_
127. ___ __rr_
128. _________ __rr_____
129. ____ ___mm_ll
130. __zz_ _____
131. ____ _ee__
132. ____ __dd_ll
133. B_bb_ __ll___
134. Ll___ _____
135. ______ ___ss
136. __ll__ __ll_
137. _Il_ __ll____
138. ____ __ll____
139. ___ __ll____
140. ___ __ll____
141. ___ __ll__
142. __rr_ _r____
143. _____ __nn
144. __ss _____s
This one was added to the list by the Today’s Game Era Committee in December.
145. _ee _____
Two more were added to this list (newly elected members announced on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019).
146. ___ __ll____
147. ____ __ss___
(Note: This is the updated quiz. Sharp-eyed Hornsby Chapter members caught two omissions when taking this quiz for the first time at SABR Day 2019 in Austin.)
Answers for Baseball HOF Members Quiz
The following Baseball Hall of Fame members have double letters in either their first or last name, or both. 44.11 percent (147 of 331 members of the Hall of Fame) meet this criterion. Using the clues provided, filled in the names. Hint: the names are in alphabetical order by last name. Also, answers are based on the roster on the official website for the National Baseball Hall of Fame (https://baseballhall.org/)
1. _a__ Aa___ Hank Aaron
2. ____ _pp___ Luke Appling
3. ___l _____ll Earl Averill
4. __ff _____ll Jeff Bagwell
5. __ __rr__ Ed Barrow
6. _oo_ ____ __ll Cool Papa Bell
7. ___nn_ _____ Johnny Bench
8. ____ __rr_ Yogi Berra
9. _____ __gg__ Craig Biggio
10. ____ __gg_ Wade Boggs
11. ___ __tt_____ Jim Bottomley
12. ______ ___tt George Brett
13. __ll___ _____ Willard Brown
14. ___ __nn_n_ Jim Bunning
15. __ss_ _____tt Jesse Burkett
16. ___ _______ll_ Roy Campanella
17. __pp_ ________ Happy Chandler
18. __ __bb Ty Cobb
19. _dd__ __ll___ Eddie Collins
20. __mm_ __ll___ Jimmy Collins
21. ___ __nn_ll_ Tom Connolly
22. _____ __nn__ Roger Connor
23. ____ _oo___ Andy Cooper
24. __bb_ ___ Bobby Cox
25. _____ __mm____ Candy Cummings
26. __zz_ ____ Dizzy Dean
27. __ll ______ Bill Dickey
28. ___ ____gg__ Joe DiMaggio
29. __rr_ ____ Larry Doby
30. __bb_ ___rr Bobby Doerr
31. ______ ______ss Barney Dreyfuss
32. ____ __ff_ Hugh Duffy
33. __nn__ _________ Dennis Eckersley
34. __ll_ _____ Billy Evans
35. ___nn_ _____ Johnny Evers
36. ___ __ll__ Bob Feller
37. ___ __rr_ll Rick Ferrell
38. __ll__ _______ Rollie Fingers
39. __ll ______ Bill Foster
40. __ll__ ___ Nellie Fox
41. __mm__ __xx Jimmie Foxx
42. __rr__ _____ Warren Giles
43. ___ __ll___ Pat Gillick
44. _oo__ _o____ Goose Goslin
45. _oo__ _oss___ Goose Gossage
46. ____ __ee__e__ Hank Greenberg
47. ___ ___ff__ __ Ken Griffey Jr.
48. _____ ___ff___ Clark Griffith
49. ________ ___rr___ Vladimir Guerrero
50. __n_ ___nn Tony Gwynn
51. __ss_ _____s Jesse Haines
52. __ll_ ____l___ Billy Hamilton
53. __ll _ __rr____ Will Harridge
54. _____ __rr__ Bucky Harris
55. __bb_ ___t__tt Gabby Hartnett
56. __rr_ ______nn Harry Heilmann
57. __ll_ ______ Billy Herman
58. ____ __ll Pete Hill
59. ______ __ff___ Trevor Hoffman
60. __rr_ _oo___ Harry Hooper
61. ___ __bb___ Cal Hubbard
62. ____ __bb_ll Carl Hubbell
63. __ll__ __gg___ Miller Huggins
64. __gg__ _______ Reggie Jackson
65. ______ __nn_n__ Hughie Jennings
66. ___pp__ _____ Chipper Jones
67. _dd__ __ss Addie Joss
68. ___ _ee_e Tim Keefe
69. __ll__ _ee_e_ Willie Keeler
70. ______ __ll George Kell
71. ___ __ll__ Joe Kelley
72. ______ __ll_ George Kelly
73. ____ __ll_ King Kelly
74. ______ __ll_____ Harmon Killebrew
75. __ll ____ Bill Klem
76. ____ __ __ss_ Tony La Russa
77. __rr_ __r___ Barry Larkin
78. __mm_ _______ Tommy Lasorda
79. ____ __zz___ Tony Lazzeri
80. ___dd__ _________ Freddie Lindstrom
81. Ll___ ___ Lloyd Pop
82. __nn__ ____ Connie Mack
83. __rr_ ________ Larry Macphail
84. _ee ________ Lee Macphail
85. ____ __dd__ Greg Maddux
86. _ff_ ______ Effa Manley
87. __bb__ _______ll_ Rabbit Maranville
88. _dd__ ____e__ Eddie Mathews
89. __ll__ ____ Willie Mays
90. __ll _________ Bill Mazeroski
91. ___ _cC_____ Joe McCarthy
92. __mm_ _cC_____ Tommy McCarthy
93. __ll__ _cC____ Willie McCovey
94. ___ ____nn___ Joe McGinnity
95. __ll _______ Bill McGowan
96. __ll _________ Bill McKechnie
97. ___ ____ee Bid McPhee
98. ___nn_ ____ Johnny Mize
99. ____ __rr__ Jack Morris
100. _dd__ __rr__ Eddie Murray
101. ______ ____ll__ Walter O’Malley
102. ___ _tt Mel Ott
103. ____ __nn___ Herb Pennock
104. _______ __rr_ Gaylord Perry
105. ____ ___zz_ Mike Piazza
106. _dd__ ______ Eddie Plank
107. ____ _____tt Kirby Puckett
108. _ee _ee _ee_e Pee Wee Reese
109. _pp_ _____ Eppa Rixey
110. ____ __zz___ Phil Rizzuto
111. __oo__ _o___o_ Brooks Robinson
112. __ll__ _____ Bullet Rogan
113. _dd _____ Edd Roush
114. ___ __ff___ Red Ruffing
115. _____ __pp___ Jacob Rupport
116. _____ _e_ee Frank Selee
117. ___ ____ll Joe Sewell
118. __ __mm___ Al Simmons
119. _zz__ _____ Ozzie Smith
120. __ll_ __________ Billy Southworth
121. __rr__ _____ Warren Spahn
122. __ll__ ______ll Willie Stargell
123. _____ __tt__ Bruce Sutter
124. ____ __tt___ Mule Suttles
125. ___ __tt__ Don Sutton
126. __ll __rr_ Bill Terry
127. ___ __rr_ Joe Torre
128. _________ __rr_____ Cristobal Torriente
129. ____ ___mm_ll Alan Trammell
130. __zz_ _____ Dazzy Vance
131. ____ _ee__ Bill Veeck
132. ____ __dd_ll Rube Waddell
133. B_bb_ __ll___ Bobby Wallace
134. Ll___ _____ Lloyd Waner
135. ______ ___ss George Weiss
136. __ll__ __ll_ Willie Wells
137. _Il_ __ll____ Billy Williams
138. ____ __ll____ Dick Williams
139. ___ __ll____ Joe Williams
140. ___ __ll____ Ted Williams
141. ___ __ll__ Vic Willis
142. __rr_ _r____ Harry Wright
143. _____ __nn Early Wynn
144. __ss _____s Ross Youngs
Bonus Questions:
This one was added to the list by the Today’s Game Era Committee in December.
145. _ee _____ Lee Smith
Two more were added to this list (newly elected members announced on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019).
146. ___ __ll____ Roy Halladay
147. ____ __ss___ Mike Mussina
SABR Day Lunch Meeting
As per our usual custom we will gather at the Macaroni Grill in the Arboretum in Austin to celebrate SABR Day on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 12:30 p.m. Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
Founder Bill Gilbert honored, remembered at 13th annual winter meeting
Honoring chapter founder Bill Gilbert, videoconferencing with acclaimed baseball writer Rob Neyer and hearing about the playing career of Bob Joyce were among the highlights at the 13th Annual Winter Meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter on Saturday, Jan. 12. Nearly 40 chapter members and guests attended the winter meeting at Old Main on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos.
It was the first time our winter meeting lacked chapter founder Bill Gilbert, who passed away last fall. He originated the idea of a winter meeting; the inaugural winter meeting was in 2007. In fact, Gilbert had been instrumental in creating vibrant baseball communities, having also founded the Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR in Houston prior to moving to Central Texas and leading the effort to establish the Hornsby Chapter in 2006. Chapter members and guests shared Bill Gilbert remembrances and stories.
Hornsby Chapter Commissioner Gilbert Martinez announced that from this point forth, the annual winter meeting would be named in Bill Gilbert’s honor as the Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting.
Rob Neyer, commissioner of the West Coast League and a writer for ESPN, SB Nation and Fox Sports, connected with the meeting via Skype and was interviewed by Martinez. Neyer discussed his newly published book, “Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game,” inspired in part by Arnold Hano’s “A Day in the Bleachers” and Dan Okrent’s “Nine Innings.”
Neyer shared his views about how baseball is played today, in sharp contrast to how it had been played in the past. Using some details of an inning-by-inning description of a single game between the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros in September 2017, Neyer’s book weaves in a wide range of topics related to baseball – from the use of newer statistical measures to Statcast to pace of play. During the videoconference, he also shared his experiences as commissioner of the West Coast League, the premier summer college league west of the Mississippi.
In addition, Bob Joyce, son of former Major League pitcher Bob Joyce, recounted his father’s career, pitching with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1939 and with the New York Giants in 1946. In addition, Joyce won 94 games as a starting pitcher for the Double-A San Francisco Seals from 1942 to 1945, including a 31-game win total in 1945. In addition, Bob Joyce shared his own collegiate baseball experiences playing for the University of San Francisco.
Bob Joyce, son of former pitcher with the Double-A San Francisco Seals Bob Joyce. (Photo by Gilbert D. Martinez)
Other presentations included Gilbert Martinez’s “Baseball in Japan,” in which he described attending Chunichi Dragons games in June 2018, visiting the Ichiro Suzuki museum near Nagoya, Japan, and presenting Ichiro’s father with a photo of Ichiro’s 3,000th professional hit (Nippon Professional Baseball hits plus MLB hits).
Longtime broadcaster for the Round Rock Express Mike Capps shared details about the long-anticipated return of the Triple-A affiliate to the Astros’ farm system. He said he’s looking forward to seeing the talented pitchers, hitters and fielders on the Astros minor league clubs. He also described a new addition to the Dell Diamond: the Home Run Dugout, a Top Golf-like attraction that serves as an augmented reality batting cage, set to open in the spring.
Dierker Chapter member Mike McCroskey shared details of his visit to Hot Springs, Arkansas, a site of early spring trainings. Included in his presentation were audio clips from the sites of historical markers. McCroskey also described how he found the home plate location from which Babe Ruth launched a 573-foot home run blast to an alligator pond across the street from the stadium during a spring training game.
The newest winter meeting activity involved a version of bingo, baseball style. Winter Meeting Coordinator Ryan Pollack created bingo cards with a variety of baseball experiences and called on meeting participants to fill their cards by chatting with others. Experiences on the baseball bingo card included such things as catching a foul ball, owning more than 500 baseball cards, attending a non-MLB game played outside the United States and seeing a no-hitter or perfect game. Jan Larson was the first to bingo, winning a signed copy of Rob Neyer’s book (many thanks to Rob Neyer for providing the prize!).
In recent years, Jim Baker has done an excellent job providing an opening group activity to kick off our winter meetings. Because of the Bill Gilbert memorial, we asked him to close this winter meeting instead, and he didn’t disappoint. His trivia presentation included photos of renowned baseball players who ended their careers in unfamiliar surroundings. With various caveats, Jim led the group through a wide range of players to fit his criteria. For example, Hank Aaron played the bulk of his career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, but ended with the Milwaukee Brewers. Another example included Willie Mays (started with the San Francisco Giants and ended with the New York Mets).
Another recent tradition of our winter meetings included a Mock Hall of Fame vote by attendees. The group has proven to be miserly with its vote, often voting for fewer eventual inductees than the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. With 30 ballots in our mock vote, 23 votes were necessary for election. Of those on the current ballot, only two achieved that goal: Mariano Rivera (26 votes) and Edgar Martinez (23). Other players who received double-digit votes were Roger Clemens (17), Barry Bonds (15), Mike Mussina (15), Curt Schilling (13), Larry Walker (12), Roy Halladay (10) and Billy Wagner (10).
Many thanks to our presenters and attendees! We were glad to hear that many participants enjoyed a great day of talking about baseball.
The next Hornsby Chapter activity will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, when the chapter will join with other chapters across the country and around the world to recognize SABR Day! A call for RSVPs will be shared on the chapter email list soon.
Join us for the 13th Annual Winter Meeting on Jan. 12!
Hi everyone! It’s almost that time of year again. Here are some details about January’s winter meeting:
At a Glance
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 12
- Time: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; get there early and stay late to mingle
- Location: Old Main, Room 320 (third floor), on the Texas State campus in San Marcos, Texas
- Lunch is available for purchase prior to 10 AM.
- Boxed lunch from Which Which including a bottle of water
- Cost: $12. Cash only – exact change would be appreciated.
- Bring memorabilia to share & discuss
- We’ll have a lot of baseball books on hand to give away, all from Bill Gilbert’s collection. Feel free to bring your own to exchange
- Wear your favorite team’s cap, jersey, and (if you’re feeling bold) high socks!
Agenda and Activities
Our keynote speaker will be Rob Neyer. Rob is a pioneer in baseball analysis and writing, having worked for Bill James and STATS Inc. before spending 15 years as a columnist at ESPN. Since then he’s worked at SB Nation, FOX Sports, and other outlets. He is currently the commissioner of the West Coast League.
Rob’s newest book is Power Ball, in which he uses a 2017 game between the Astros and A’s as a jumping-off point for giving his unique take on modern baseball trends, such as the increase in strikeouts, defensive shifts, and pace of play. Rob will join us via Skype and will be interviewed by Gilbert Martinez.
Mike Capps, broadcaster for the Round Rock Express, will be on hand to discuss all things Houston Astros at the minor and major league levels. Bob Joyce will be discussing his father’s playing career, and Mike McCroskey will regale us with tales of his trip to Spring Training.
We also have several presentations from local chapter members. Gilbert will tell us about his trip to Japan last summer. Jan Larson will again lead our mock HOF ballot. (Is this the year Edgar gets in? Results are released on Jan. 22.) And come prepared to share your own baseball experiences: we’ll be playing Baseball Bingo and signing each others’ cards to win a prize!
Don’t forget trivia, memorabilia sharing, and the book exchange. We’ve got you covered!
Directions
Your destination is the Old Main building on the Texas State campus. It’s at the top of a long, winding hill.
- From I-35, take exit 206 (Aquarena Springs Dr.) Travel west on Aquarena Springs Drive, which turns into University Drive.
- After crossing the San Marcos River, you will come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Sessom Drive.
- Turn left on State Street and go up a steep road toward Old Main.
- Go through a gate (the gate should be up) and continue up the hill.
- At the top of the hill, make a sharp left turn and drive up to Old Main.
- Look for parking on this road that winds around the side and back of Old Main.
You can find additional parking at the Pleasant Street Garage, located at the corner of N. LBJ and Pleasant Street. To reach this garage, after you pass through the gate, continue up the hill, then down the hill to the stop sign on Pleasant Street. Turn left; the entrance to the parking garage will be on your left.
You do not need a parking pass to park on campus – however, do not park in spaces not marked as parking spaces or in handicapped parking (unless you have the appropriate tag displayed).The meeting room is on the third floor in Room 320. There is an elevator on the first floor, or you can take the stairs.
This event is free and open to all; please share this announcement with anyone and everyone. Hope to see you all there in just a couple of weeks!
Holiday goodies and cheer abound in December meeting
Seventeen chapter members and guests enjoyed holiday cookies from the Celys, with ample Italian cuisine from Macaroni Grill’s kitchen and sides of baseball talk galore.
As has become a December meeting tradition, Linda Cely brought baked goods – cookies, Buckeyes, and Mexican caramel candies – to help celebrate the season. She and Monte even brought festive holiday bags for everyone to take a sampling home.
Another highlight of the meeting yesterday was a Christmas-themed trivia quiz by the incomparable Jim Baker. Rather than focus on former Major Leaguer Stephen Christmas (who had cups of coffee with the Reds, White Sox and Cubs in the 1980s), Jim researched players born on Christmas Day, including a few Hall of Fame players. The contest was won by Tom Thayer with Mike Dillon in second. For their exploits, Jim generously awarded them Macaroni Grill gift cards.
As is usual the case with our meetings, a wide range of baseball teams and leagues were represented. MLB teams that made appearances at our meeting included the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros. Gilbert Martinez wore the Astros-orange polo shirt with the SABR 44 logo and Monte donned the ballcap of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
Even the newest merchandise was well represented: Jan Larson sported the ball cap with the new Miami Marlins logo, and Jerry Miller wore a t-shirt with one of the newest Double-A team, the Amarillo Sod Poodles, affiliate of the San Diego Padres that features a nickname of prairie dogs in the Panhandle. Jerry also sported a red ball cap/stocking cap, and Linda wore a festive Santa suit.
Topics included the news about the election of Lee Smith and Harold Baines to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the trades that have occurred so far in the offseason, and those that haven’t, and whether the winter meetings are still necessary.
Monte also shared details of his visit to Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, in early December, catching two Naranjeros games at Estadio Sonora and being a featured guest on a radio show. More details can be found at this link (scroll part way to the author’s note): http://www.sabrhornsby.org/2018/08/serie-del-caribe-2019-winter-leagues-2018-19/
It was the group’s 145th consecutive month in which the chapter has met. The group is entering the 13th year of regular monthly meetings.
Next month, the Hornsby Chapter puts on its biggest meeting of the year, the winter meeting on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Texas State University. It will be our first winter meeting without chapter founder Bill Gilbert, so we plan to have a special remembrance to honor him, along with a wide range of baseball topics and discussion. Winter meeting coordinator Ryan Pollack will be in touch soon on the chapter email list with more details. Hope to see you Jan. 12!
December Lunch Meeting
The December meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will be held at the Macaroni Grill in the Arboretum area in Austin on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at 12:30 p.m. Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
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